“The concept was to fashion a classic Bordeaux-style blend,” says Director of Winemaking Brooks Painter. “2007 presented us with a fabulous vintage to begin with. We had all these great ingredients that were already spoken for, but we cherry picked and created a voluptuous wine where the flavor and aromatic characteristics of each varietal play a significant role. It’s an interesting—even provocative—wine in that not only the varieties, but the regions from which they came, are distinctly expressed—earthy Rutherford Cabernet, cool-climate Carneros Merlot, spicy North Coast Petit Verdot, aromatic Cabernet Franc from Alexander Valley.” Velvety and rich, with well-integrated tannins from careful barrel selection, mostly new oak, the 2007 Paradiso is already enjoyable. “It’s a precocious wine,” says Brooks, “seductive already, but should age very well too. We were looking less for structure than finesse…and balance and harmony among the components. We’re very pleased with the result.”